Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo returns to the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday for a busy Asia-Pacific race series that could bring him closer toward his first premier-class title.
The Spaniard, last year’s winner, will count on “home” advantage in Motegi aiming to add to his 284 MotoGP points, 56 ahead of compatriot Honda man Dani Pedrosa.
“Motegi is Yamaha’s home and I always feel proud to ride there,” said Lorenzo, who missed the podium in the last race in Aragon for the first time this season. He finished fourth there.
“Last year, I got my first victory at this track in MotoGP and it was one of the best moments of the season. The main goal is to get back on the podium and continue getting as many points as possible,” the 23-year-old said.
With five more rounds left in the season—including three back-to-back races in Japan, Malaysia and Australia—Pedrosa stands alone with the possibility of derailing Lorenzo from clinching his first premier class world title. Times of India
Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi could instruct Lorenzo on the best way to close out title-winning seasons, having seven premier-class championships behind him. This year the Italian is down in fourth place in the standings, having had his campaign severely disrupted by the broken leg he suffered at the Italian GP in June, and an ongoing shoulder problem.
He made a swift return to action after the broken leg, despite initial fears he would miss the rest of the season, but admits his body is some way off peak condition.
“The leg is now almost back to normal again - I have even started running - but the shoulder is a problem and we know now that this is not going to change until we have time to treat it properly.
“I have some great memories from Motegi, especially winning the championship in 2008, but I am expecting this weekend to be quite difficult on my body.” The Press Association
The Twin Ring Motegi race could be dominated by poor weather. The circuit was battered by torrential rain for the majority of today and forecasts are predicting more rain over the weekend.
Asked whether he felt the recent set-up changes would be a benefit in wet conditions, Stoner added: “I have no idea whether it will work or not. We don’t even really know that the settings made a huge difference.
“It might’ve just been that we were that much faster than other people that we weren’t pushing the bike as hard and made things come to us because we got used to the track faster. Now we are at a circuit where everybody’s very comfortable.
“I don’t know if I’m going to have to push that hard again and make the bike overwork and then that’s when I make my mistakes. So we really don’t know if the setting made a difference or not.
“I’m still looking forward to the last part of the season and see if I can get on the podium a few more times and it would be great if I can win another race.” Motorcycle News
Pos. Rider Bike Points 1 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 284 2 Dani PEDROSA Honda 228 3 Casey STONER Ducati 155 4 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 140 5 Andrea DOVIZIOSOHonda 139 6 Ben SPIES Yamaha 131 7 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati 125 8 Randy DE PUNIET Honda 81 9 Marco MELANDRI Honda 74 10 Marco SIMONCELLIHonda 74 11 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha 70 12 Hector BARBERA Ducati 66 13 Aleix ESPARGARO Ducati 50 14 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki 49 15 Loris CAPIROSSI Suzuki 41 16 Mika KALLIO Ducati 33 17 Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda 29 18 Alex DE ANGELIS Honda 11 19 Roger Lee HAYDENHonda 5 20 Kousuke AKIYOSHIHonda 4 21 Wataru YOSHIKAWAYamaha 1
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